Car Theft Prevention Subject Of New Chatham Resolution

CHATHAM, NJ — The Chatham Township Committee has introduced a resolution in support of the proposed legislation, the bipartisan Auto Theft Prevention Act, introduced by Representatives Mikie Sherrill and Don Bacon.

According to the proposed legislation, a grant program would give state and local law enforcement agencies a dedicated source of funding to fight auto thefts through the Community Oriented Policing Services of the US Department of Justice.

The bipartisan legislation creates a new competitive grant program within the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to assist state and local law enforcement in combating auto theft.

The Chatham Township Police Department would be able to use grants to purchase license plate readers, hire more law enforcement officers and support staff, fund overtime costs and fund anti-auto theft data collection and research activities.

According to officials, the bill would provide $150 million over five years to police departments across the country to assist them in combating auto theft.

During the resolution's committee discussion, committee member Mark Lois spoke out in opposition to the resolution, claiming that the proposed legislature did not get to the root cause.

"What we are doing is asking them to fix a problem that's been caused by catch and release laws. We're asking them to fix it with money to the police and to our municipality. To message to the public that we have done something here with this supporting a resolution… is telling people that we can solve a problem that was caused by catch and release," Lois said.

In response, Deputy Mayor Mark Hamilton disagreed, claiming that just because the resolution won't solve the problem overnight doesn't mean it doesn't deserve the committee's support.

While Hamilton backed the claim that the resolution is not addressing the main issue within car thefts, he argued that the township deserves as much funding from the federal government as possible.

"The federal government is going to tax and spend and we are not going to stop them. I'll be dammed if I don't support something that, if they are going to tax me and spend my money anyway, I'd like some of it to be going to the Chatham Township Police Department," Hamilton said.

The committee made it a point to inform the public that they are all doing everything possible to combat car theft within the community.

Lois stated that he wants the committee to look further into a potential ordinance that increases the fines for trespassing and trespassing with the intent to steal.

According to Mayor Ashley Felice, that ordinance will be discussed further at the next committee workshop meeting. "I appreciate that initiative, because we are trying to do literally everything we possibly can to stop car thefts," Felice said.

Chatham, like the rest of Morris County, has seen an increase in vehicle crime in the last year. During a public presentation, Lt. Brad Hayworth stated that in the past year, the township had more than 16 attempted car thefts.

According to State Police data, 14,320 cars were reported stolen in New Jersey in 2021. Car thefts have increased by 22% since 2020, with 9,000 cars stolen by August 2022. Officials estimate that this figure is expected to increase to 17,000 by the end of the year.

"This is not going to solve it. It's not… If the federal government is giving out money to stop car thefts, we should be getting it because we have an issue, we have a problem here," Felice said.